IndyCar will allow replacement drivers during Indy 500 as Kyle Larson again chases ‘The Double’

Driver Kyle Larson heads to the track before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)

INDIANAPOLIS — IndyCar announced Wednesday the parameters for the use of a replacement driver for next month’s Indianapolis 500, where NASCAR star Kyle Larson will once again attempt to complete the “Double” by running the entire IndyCar race and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on the same day.

Larson wound up starting fifth last year in his debut in the rain-delayed Indy 500, then flew to Charlotte and planned to join the race there in progress. But he never ended up replacing fill-in driver Justin Allgaier because rain halted that race, too.

There were questions all week about what Arrow McLaren would do should rain impact the Indy 500. Now, there is a prescribed set of conditions that would allow the team to replace Larson in the No. 17 should something similar occur on May 25.

The parameters state a replacement driver will only be considered if the primary driver is “participating in another marquee event with the driver’s principal racing series on Indianapolis 500 race day.” The replacement must pass a refresher program on the first day of Indy 500 practice, and tires used for the refresher will be taken from the car’s race allotment.

Once a replacement driver completes the refresher program, additional laps will not be allowed. And should a team choose to use the replacement, the car will forfeit its spot on the 33-car starting grid and start from the rear of the lineup.

Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports announced late last year that Larson would try the “Double” again, teaming with full-time drivers Pato O’Ward, Nolan Siegel and Christian Lundgaard. In making the announcement, the two race teams indicated that Tony Kanaan — Arrow McLaren’s sporting director and the 2013 Indy 500 winner — would be on standby if needed.

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The Associated Press